Wisconsin 3, Milwaukee 0
UW Field House • Madison, Wis. | |
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| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | Milwaukee
| 15 | 24 | 23 | -- | -- | Wisconsin
| 25 | 26 | 25 | -- | -- | | | | Stats Leaders
| | Milwaukee | | Wisconsin | | Kolinske - 14 | Kills | Mikaelsen/ Mitchell - 2 | | Price - 29 | Assists | Thomas - 31 | | Latzig - .500 | Hit %
| Mitchell - .435 | | Bartz/ Egerer - 13 | Digs | Hickey -13 | | Dunbar/ Neuberger - 2 | Blocks | Thomas - 4 | | Kolinske - 1 | Aces | Hickey - 3 | | Stats Comparison
| MIL | WIS | | Kills | 34 | 44 | | Hitting Pct. | .113 | .209 | | Assists | 34 | 39 | | Service Aces | 1 | 6 | | Digs | 57 | 56 | | Total Blocks | 8 | 4 | | |
• Box Score | Box Score 
| Quotes | Video Highlights
MADISON, Wis. - The Panthers fought to the wire, but in the end Wisconsin was too strong, sweeping Milwaukee to finish the 2012 InnTowner Invitational with a perfect 3-0 mark. The Badgers (8-1) took down the Panthers 25-15, 26-24, 25-23 to sweep all three opponents this weekend.
"I'm really happy with the win tonight against Milwaukee," head coach Pete Waite said. "Traditionally a very strong team, often (Horizon League) champions and a very, very scrappy team (that is) well coached. I was really pleased with our passing, throughout the weekend."
| Fast Facts | | • Wisconsin wins its 16th InnTowner Invitational title and first since 2010. | | • Julie Mikaelsen wins tournament MVP honors while Hickey and Thomas are named all-tournament | | • Courtney Thomas compiled five digs in the final set to earn her fifth-straight double-double with 31 assists and 10 digs | |
Wisconsin and Milwaukee battled even over the first half of the opening set. Tied at 10-10, the Badgers took off on an 8-0 run to open up a commanding lead, with sophomore defensive specialist Caroline Workman on the serve for Wisconsin. Workman scored seven straight points to put the Badgers up 18-10. From there, the Badgers opened up a 10-point margin to seal the victory with a service ace from junior libero Annemarie Hickey, one of three for her on the night.
The Badgers and Panthers battled back and forth throughout the second set, with no team holding more than a five-point margin. Junior right-side hitter Julie Mikaelsen, who earned tournament MVP honors, had six kills for the Badgers in the set, propelling the team to a nail-biting 26-24 win. The Panthers served for set point at 24-23 but a kill from Bailey Reshel started a 3-0 run for Wisconsin to seal the win.
The third set played out much the same as the second with neither team ever holding a big advantage. Tied 13-13, Milwaukee's Julie Kolinske earned a kill to put the Panthers on top. And although Milwaukee never took more than a three-point lead, the Panthers seemed to grab momentum and eventually took a 20-17 advantage.
The Badgers took four of the next five points, thanks in part to a pair of kills from senior middle blocker Alexis Mitchell to tie the set at 21-21. A pair of Wisconsin kills and a pair of Milwaukee errors sealed the narrow win for the Badgers, 25-23.
The third-set win also sealed Wisconsin's 16th InnTowner Invitational title and first since 2010.
Mikaelsen finished the night with 12 kills and a 391 hitting percentage. Mitchell also contributed 12 kills while leading the Badgers with a .435 hitting percentage for the match.
"This was one of the best weekends of Julie's career," Waite said. "And it was nice to see, fun to watch."
Wisconsin out-blocked Milwaukee 8-4, led by four blocks from sophomore setter Courtney Thomas, while out-hitting the Panthers .209 to .113 as a team.
Hickey and Thomas both earned all-tournament honors with Hickey finishing the evening with 13 digs and six assists on top of her three aces. Thomas earned her fifth-straight double-double with 31 assists and 10 digs.
The Badgers close out pre-conference play next weekend with four matches at the Georgia Southern Tournament in Statesboro, Ga.
